Mets Game 11: Win Over Twins

Mets 4 Twins 2

The Mets win three of their first four series of the year, but Matt Harvey wasn’t quite perfect.

Mets Game Notes

Yes, I was being facetious. Harvey again was brilliant, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finishing up 8 innings, allowing 2 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 6 in a very efficient 107-pitch effort. The Tom Seaver references and comparisons are appropriate — Harvey similarly relies primarily on pounding his 95-MPH fastball into all four quadrants of the strike zone, mixes in his other three pitches judiciously, and does all the little things a pitcher needs to do to win a ballgame. The Twins have a few boppers in their lineup, so this was a good test. Granted, he did have the advantage of mystery against them (though I’m sure the Twins had scouting reports), and we’ll see how Harvey does after he faces NL East opponents repeatedly. But right now, he’s looking promising.

John Buck did not hit a homerun during the entire afternoon. I hope there’s isn’t something wrong with him, like a physical ailment. I’m sure batting coach Dave Hudgens is all over whatever the problem is and will get it fixed right away. I suppose everyone goes into a slump eventually but I’ve never seen Buck in such a funk.

Bobby Parnell finally was given a save situation, and earned his first save of 2013 — albeit, it wasn’t exactly pretty. Parnell gave up two doubles and a run before slamming the door. He began the inning well, locating his 94-MPH sinker at the knees consistently against both Aaron Hicks and Joe Mauer, and freezing Hicks on a perfect spike-curve for strike three. But Mauer battled him to a full count before blasting a double off the wall, and from then on, it seemed that Parnell gave up on the sinker and “turned it up a notch” by throwing his heater high in the strike zone and at 96-97 MPH. In other words, over-throwing in the face of adversity. In other words, the same thing he’s done his entire career: when in doubt, throw harder. He regrouped in time to convert the save, and maybe it was just a blip due to his first save opp of the year, but color me mildly concerned.

I love those old-school, pinstriped Twins uniforms. Very classy.

Next Mets Game

Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.

Question for you, Joe J. There was a lot of talk last night after the game about Harvey showing Seaver-like potential as a leader. Seaver in ’67 had no history of losing, had every expectation of playing for a winner, and so helped to galvanize under-performers into winners. it was suggested that Harvey may do likewise. What’s your take as one who coaches others? Do you ever see this, and how much stock to you put in it?

DaveSchneckApril 14, 2013 at 9:02 pm

Joe,
Excellent analysis on Bobby P. He has clearly improved, but is he a closer? Closing is so much about ignoring the pressure, and as you pointed out, after Mauer tagged him, the response was not what you want to see. One game, yes, but despite a good month last Sept., the resume and body language are shaky.